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The floodwaters churned by Superstorm Sandy damaged waterfront homes along Connecticut's southwest coast, and turned the charming center of tony Westport into a ghost town, with sandbags lining streets of flooded-out boutique shops.

A fire at the height of last week's storm destroyed three Greenwich mansions, and hundreds of Fairfield homeowners waited days for water to recede so they could return to their homes.

While Connecticut was spared the destruction seen in New York and New Jersey, many communities along the shoreline - including some of the wealthiest towns in America - were struggling with one of the most severe storms in generations.

For some living along Connecticut's vaunted "Gold Coast," the effects of Sandy and earlier storms were enough to reconsider life on the waterfront.